Firehouse News, Vol. 1, No. 2: Generally Speaking

WFHB’s Annual Meeting (June 7th, Monroe County History Center, 12:15PM) signals a time of reflection for me. It is the first anniversary of my time as general manager of the station, the first meeting following the end of WFHB’s fiscal year, and a time to look back at the year’s progress and plan for the next.

I announced a number of goals I wanted to work toward last November in addition to those outlined in the station’s strategic plan: expanding the staff, creating or taking advantage of opportunities for WFHB to gain exposure in the broader listening area, and establishing more avenues for communication among volunteers and to the public.

We launched the Firehouse News, our quarterly e-newsletter, as part of that effort, which would not have been possible without a capable volunteer staff (Carol Fischer, Helen Harrell, Karen Roszkowski, Maryll Jones and Mike Glab). We hope you’ve enjoyed the product so far and will continue to do so.

With help from former WFHB general manager Markus Lowe and Volunteer Coordinator Kelly Wherley, we also reinstituted monthly meetings using a round table format. These meetings are led by volunteers and serve as an excellent delivery mechanism for ideas and discussion, as well as a way for volunteers and staff to meet each other and celebrate their love for community radio together.

Again with significant help from Markus Lowe, we launched the new website in August. Since then, we’ve been uploading most organization meeting minutes for transparency. You can find them here. Articles from the previous newsletters and much, much more can be found there, as well.

Brian Kearney helped us raise funds to hire a full-time development director in the coming fiscal year. The station made tremendous headway in many respects over the last 10 years, but annual revenues have remained relatively flat. It is our hope that a development director will help grow the station’s finances and create new relationships in the wider community moving forward. We expect this person to be hired by August 2014. You can read the job description here. If you would like to apply for the position, or know someone who would, please send a resume and cover letter to manager@wfhb.org.

WFHB partnered with agencies outside of Bloomington whenever possible. Last month alone, we were in the Spring Blossom Parade in Nashville and at the 4th Annual John Hartford Memorial Festival in Bean Blossom. Over the last year, we also partnered with Salt Creek Brewery for the 1st Annual Bedford Blues and Brews, the Indiana Boys for a CD release show at the Brown County Playhouse in Nashville, the Village Arts Walk in Nashville, and Tim Grimm’s CD release shows at Russian Recording in Bloomington and The Commons in Columbus.

Establishing a strong presence in the communities WFHB broadcasts to will continue to be a major goal for the foreseeable future.

We will also work to strengthen our partnership with Community Access Television Services, lay the groundwork for the regular pursuit of grants, and review and revise our bylaws and governance document. To learn more about these plans, attend WFHB’s Annual Meeting or look out for the minutes on our website.